Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized a French Senate resolution calling on the government to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh's independence. The head of the republic advised those who wanted to contribute to the creation of a "second Armenian state", to allocate part of their territory for this purpose and not to dispose of "legitimate Azerbaijani lands".
"If someone wants to give Armenia territory to create a second state, let them create a second Armenian state there and give them part of their territory. But to demand from us that an Armenian state be created on historical, legal Azerbaijani lands - what logic does it fit into? It does not fit into any logic or justice. What have you forgotten on our lands? The countries located thousands of kilometers away from here are now adopting laws and parliaments are discussing this issue. What does the French Parliament have to do with our issue," Aliyev said on Tuesday in his address to the nation.
He also accused France that as a co-chairman of the Minsk Group it did not contribute to the solution of the issue.
"How long has France been a co-chair of the Minsk Group? Has it done anything? Has it taken a practical step to address the issue? And now, after the issue has been resolved, will you look at what is going on? The Senate of France adopts a resolution to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh. If you like them, then, I said during the war, give the city of Marseille, change its name, create a second state there. But nobody can interfere in our affairs," the Azerbaijani leader said.
On November 25 the Senate of France adopted a resolution calling on the government to recognize the independence of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). Later, the French Foreign Ministry stated that Paris does not recognize the NKR. They stressed that Paris was still determined to achieve a long-term solution to the conflict taking into account the requirements of security and dignity of the peoples of the region and would continue doing everything to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry considered the adoption of the resolution as a provocation and stressed that it had no legal force.
Baku and Yerevan have been contesting the belonging of the region since February 1988, when it announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the 1992-1994 armed conflict, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The OSCE Minsk Group was established as a format to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. It is co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States, and includes Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS